Best secondary schools in Brighton and Hove

Cardinal Newman Catholic School is the top-ranked secondary school in Brighton and Hove (LocaleIQ score 90.3 out of 100). Ofsted: Outstanding. Attainment 8 50.4. The score combines Ofsted outcome, Progress 8 and Attainment 8, and cohort-weighted percentile ranks within the Brighton and Hove secondary pool.

Hove Junior School tops the Brighton and Hove primary school ranking (LocaleIQ 95.9). Ofsted: Outstanding. KS2 expected 76% · higher 9%. See the full primary school ranking for Brighton and Hove for the complete list.

Attainment 8 measures average GCSE grades across eight subjects; Progress 8 compares actual grades against predictions based on KS2 — a positive figure means pupils outperformed expectations. Top performers in Brighton and Hove: Cardinal Newman Catholic School (Attainment 8 50.4); King's School (Attainment 8 53.7); Varndean School (Attainment 8 48.8). Both metrics feed into the LocaleIQ secondary school score.

1 secondary school in the Brighton and Hove ranking hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating: Cardinal Newman Catholic School. Outstanding means Ofsted judged the school exceptional in all inspection areas. LocaleIQ weighs DfE performance data alongside Ofsted, so a Good-rated school can still rank highly.

This ranking covers 10 secondary schools in the Brighton and Hove comparison pool, across 6 local authority districts. Schools without sufficient published data are excluded but may appear in the LocaleIQ directory.

By average LocaleIQ score across postcode areas, BN3 has the strongest cluster — 66.5 average across 4 ranked secondary schools. BN1 sits at the lower end (50.9 average). School decisions here need to be tied tightly to postcode choice because the city is too uneven for a generic Brighton answer. Postcode averages mask individual variation — always review each school's full profile.